Weekend NBA Guide: More Magic

FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.

Boston swatted away New Jersey to open up the weekend, but we have prospects for more even games over Saturday and Sunday.

And as with everything else over the past week, it begins with the scorching Orlando Magic.

SATURDAY HEADLINER
Orlando at Denver, 9PM ET

No one has been able to stop the Magic of late -- not the Lakers, not the Spurs, not the Hawks. Most impressive? The team's incredible heat on the road has continued; Orlando's a whopping 16-5 away from home, tops in the league.

Denver has been a matching 16-5 at home, and Thursday's tight win over Phoenix at Pepsi Center furthered the running narrative as the Nuggets as soldiers of fortune. Injured Carmelo Anthony has been one of the league's most efficient crunch time scorers for years; Chauncey Billups didn't get the "Mr. Big Shot" nickname for nothing. Mix in some Kenyon Martin threes and this isn't a team you want to be locked up in the final minute.

Of course, Jameer Nelson -- a man full of onions right now -- might disagree. This is the type of game League Pass is made for.

SATURDAY UNDERCARD
San Antonio at Chicago, 8:30PM ET

Everyone with a Bulls business card -- the players, the coach, the GM -- has something to prove over the next 38 games. Derrick Rose should have the mythical rookie wall in his sights. Vinny Del Negro has taken more heat than any other surviving head man in the lig. Luol Deng played like an Old Master across from LeBron James on Thursday, but that's just one night ... easily forgotten by the fans and teammates alike. Read that sentence again, but replace Deng's name with Kirk Hinrich. You imagine John Paxson will be active in February, given the unbalanced but somehow bloated roster and eager to prove the Ben Gordon and Deng decisions were not made in vain. Even if it all amounts in the difference between the eighth seed and the 12th pick, a lot of mustard's at stake in Chicago.

As such, giving San Antonio something to think about should be a big deal. The Bulls probably don't want moral victories, but long-term goals can be met with just a good effort.

New Orleans at Detroit, 7:30PM ET

The Hornets got smoked out of Cleveland Friday thanks to a retribution game from LeBron James, but Detroit's in a worse mental spot. Smallball has been a travesty, Jason Maxiell's mug should be on a milk carton, and Rip Hamilton's contract extension is beginning to draw some criticism.

But we've got good news! Matt Watson will be at The Palace to Twitter for NBA FanHouse Live. Send comments and questions for the locker room through Twitter: @NBAFanHouse.

Portland at Charlotte, 7PM ET
Philadelphia at New York, 7:30PM ET
Miami at Houston, 8:30PM ET
Utah at Dallas, 9PM ET
Milwaukee at L.A. Clippers, 10:30PM ET


SUNDAY HEADLINER
Phoenix at Toronto, 12:30PM ET

Only two games on Sunday, but the Phoenix-Bryan Colangelo connection will provide wheat so long as the Suns roster resembles the version B.C. built. We're actually getting close enough that drying up, actually: the trades of Shawn Marion, Raja Bell and Boris Diaw have left only Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa and Amare Stoudemire as signature Colangelo players.

Nash will be the media focal point here, so long as those Toronto rumors persist. But it'll be interesting to watch Amare to match up with Chris Bosh. Stoudemire has been the better forward ... until this season. Despite the Raptors' early struggles, Bosh has been a beast while Amare has been the subject of vast criticism among Suns fans for a perceived lack of rebounding, defense and effort. As of today, both will be unrestricted free agents in 2010. But no one's talking about Amare. There's a reason for that. The reason might not be based in a realistic evaluation of Amare's quixotic existence, but it's out there and it's widespread.

In the case, let's see if there's any sort of noticeable difference between Bosh's effort and that of Amare.

SUNDAY UNDERCARD
Miami at Oklahoma City, 7PM ET